


Greyer Shades of White

by lady_needless_litany



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: A few months after The Last Jedi, F/F, Mention of date rape-esque drugs, One Shot, Post-TLJ, The Resistance is in hiding, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 11:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16639550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_needless_litany/pseuds/lady_needless_litany
Summary: The destruction of Hosnian Prime and the New Republic has left the galaxy in chaos. With the First Order rapidly moving to seize power, General Leia Organa — on behalf of the decimated Resistance — sends an emissary to seek out an ally in the Outer Rim. But Rey’s mission on Cadomai Prime goes far from to plan...





	Greyer Shades of White

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lucymonster](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucymonster/gifts).



Everything was white. Cold, clinical, and white.

The room bore enough of a resemblance to the Resistance’s medical facilities that she could guess that she was in some kind of hospital, but it was far more advanced than anything she’d ever seen. 

The cot she was lying in was firm yet comfortable, the sheets lying over her another blinding shade of white. She wasn’t restrained, so she sat up, which gave her a better view of the place. A door, diagonally opposite, slid open as she did so, sending her heart thudding into a blind panic.

She had no time stand or arm herself before two droids entered. Both were roughly humanoid in shape, though one, probably a medical droid, was considerably more bulbous and unattractive than the other. Considerably lighter and more mobile, Rey guessed that the other was a protocol droid.

They approached her, the medical droid spouting a series of instructions. For lack of knowing what else to do, she complied with all of them, allowing the droid to take her pulse and examine her eyes.

“You are healthy,” it informed her.

“Good to know,” she muttered.

The medical droid made a sharp turn and made for the door, leaving her and the other droid alone. It was a dark grey, plated in matte metal.

“I am H7-234-10…” Rey tuned as the droid recited its full sixteen character identifier. “...servant droid. I have been sent to help you.”

“Where am I?” she asked abruptly.

It was unphased by her rudeness. “You are onboard the  _ Corellian Queen.  _ You have been here for two hours and sixteen minutes, and we are still docked on Cadomai Prime.”

Cadomai. Well, at least they hadn’t ended up on a different planet.

She put a hand to her forehead. The last thing she remembered was sitting down at a table in a cantina, waiting for the contact she’d been sent to meet… with a drink that had tasted off.

Kriff. You really couldn’t trust anyone.

“Your presence is requested by my master,” the droid said. Dread crawled into her stomach. Anyone called a ‘master’, even by their droids, couldn’t be a good thing — especially as she doubted it was some miraculous Jedi master that had chosen to reveal themselves.

“Who?”

It took on a tone that suggested the answer was obvious. “My master.”

That was the problem with droids. She forced herself to swallow her frustration. “Who’s your master?”

It seemed confused. “That is irrelevant. She requests your presence. You will accompany me now.”

It had been worth a try. Her only hint was that it was a woman, which was really no help at all. “Fine.”

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and pushed herself to her feet. As she did so, she briefly considered incapacitating the droid and making a bid for freedom; she quickly ruled it out as an option — she couldn’t mind trick a droid and anything more physical would soon raise alarms. Reluctantly, she resigned herself to the machine’s neutral guidance.

It walked behind her, escorting her down a series of corridors and effectively cutting off any escape route. Instead, she turned her attention to looking around and attempting to commit their path to memory. From what she could see, the ship was worn but well-kept; she guessed that the owner wasn’t the showy type, but couldn’t be lacking in funds either. What was most notable, though, was the complete lack of people.

Thankfully, their journey was a short one. They stopped in front of a nondescript door, identical to a half a dozen others that they’d passed. The droid spoke an authorisation code into thin air and they were permitted entry. A soft chime accompanied them, alerting the room’s occupant of their arrival.

The room itself was spacious, for a ship. At the far end of the room was a desk, currently occupied by a figure leaning over a screen; between them was a pair of sofas and a low table. Behind the desk was a floor-to-ceiling window, currently shaded, which put the room into a comfortable twilight and rendered the outside world invisible. It was all oddly domestic, intimate. A contrast from the medbay and the empty corridors.

Rey’s attention snapped to the person at the desk as they stood, dismissing the droid with a casual wave.

Her gaze was the first thing Rey noticed: it was direct, piercing. Rey forced herself not to look away, studying the woman’s appearance to stop herself from dropping her eyes to the floor. 

She was attractive and confident. Fairly short. Her hair was immaculate, tidy, and carefully dyed to erase any trace of greyness. From the lines around her eyes and mouth, Rey estimated that she was around the same age as Leia, maybe a few years older. She had the same commanding aura about her, too.

“Sit,” the woman said, indicating a sofa. Her voice was firm.

Rey obeyed.

“I won’t ask you what you’re doing here,” the woman said. “Because we both know you’d lie.”

“Well-” Rey’s retort died in her lips as her brain caught up with her: she didn’t know what was going on, she was isolated, and this woman felt like one that was not to be alienated lightly.

The woman ignored her aborted attempt at speech. “Before we start, you should know that your companion and your astromech are onboard this ship. I hope that won’t affect our discussion, but… you should know.” 

A threat, thinly veiled. Intended as a warning.

It couldn’t stop the words from bursting out of her mouth. “Are they alright?”

“They’re fine, although we’re keeping Chewbacca sedated. For security reasons, I’m sure you can understand.”

A wave of relief, followed by a relapse into panic. “How — how do you know his name?”

“We’ve met before,” she replied cryptically. The woman moved, taking a seat opposite her. “What’s your name?”

_ No point in lying, _ Rey thought. “Rey.”

“Just ‘Rey’?”

“Yes. I don’t know my family name.”

“Neither do I.” The tone was surprisingly gentle, at odds with the woman’s assessing gaze. “I’m Qi’ra.”

Rey nodded, thinking it best to remain silent.

Qi’ra took a breath. “That ship of yours — the  _ Millenium Falcon _ . It’s familiar to me.”

“It’s the-” Rey stopped mid-sentence, catching herself just in time. She could envisage the ship on its tiny, out-of-the-way landing pad, looking so much smaller now that it was officially the only ship they had. And who was this woman? Not only did she recognise the  _ Falcon _ , she knew Chewie by name.

“The what?” Qi’ra prodded, not giving Rey much time to consider the situation.

“Nothing, it’s not-”

Already, her words began to take on a sharper edge. “Tell me.”

Driven purely by instinct, Rey took a gamble. At any rate, it didn’t seem like she had a lot to lose. “It’s the Resistance’s last ship.”

“The Resistance.” Qi’ra was unperturbed by her revelation, though she took a moment to mull the words over. “Last thing I heard, the Resistance had been obliterated.”

“We were,” Rey replied. “Some of us managed to escape.”

“Hm.” Qi’ra pursed her lips in thought. “In that case… tell me, do you know Han Solo?”

“I did.” Rey looked away. “He died on Starkiller Base.”

Something flashed through Qi’ra’s eyes, but she continued without noticeable pause. “Amilyn Holdo?”

_ Holdo. Up until Crait, I’d never heard of her. Now she’s everywhere.  _ When she replied, it was impossible to keep a note of sadness out of her voice; even though she’d never met the woman herself, the admiration with which Resistance personnel spoke of her was moving. “She’s also gone.”

“I see.” Qi’ra’s face remained entirely devoid of emotion, a stark contrast to Rey’s tumultuous thoughts. “And who’s commanding the Resistance at the moment?”

“General Leia Organa.”

A beat.

Leia’s name was known across the galaxy; Rey had no doubt that it was familiar to Qi’ra. But the woman showed no reaction. Instead, she changed tack completely and at lightning speed. Her litany of questions resumed. “Where are you from?”

“Jakku.”

“Well, we’ve never had a lot of work out on Jakku, but do you recognise this symbol?”

Qi’ra tapped her necklace with her nail. “Does it means anything to you?”

“Not really,” Rey admitted. “Although it seems kind of familiar.”

“It’s the symbol of Crimson Dawn.”

The way she emphasised the words, with such relish, made Rey sure that she should have recognised the name.

“Crimson Dawn?”

“We used to be bigger. More glamorous. But the New Republic put an end to all that, of course,” Qi’ra said, looking away. Her words were an unbelievable understatement; Crimson Dawn had been nothing but an empty name and a scrappy network of criminals for years. Rey was not to know that, of course. “Not that I’m complaining. I’ve got enough money spread over enough secret bank accounts to keep me going for several lifetimes.”

Realisation dawned. “You’re a criminal.”

“Yes, currently specialising in intelligence and theft.” She caught Rey’s distasteful expression. “You can get off your high horse. Your Resistance is just as illegal as my enterprises — we’ve sold information to you in the past, under various guises.”

It was a fair point, Rey had to admit. “So where do you stand on the First Order?”

Qi’ra’s reply, though measured, spoke of pain and anger. “The Empire was evil. I’ve no reason to be a fan of the First Order, either.”

“Then join us. The Resistance needs every scrap of help we can get,” Rey said earnestly, all sense of disadvantage temporarily shed. “Your knowledge and your connections could be invaluable.”

Qi’ra smiled tightly. “Spare me the propaganda. I’m not in the mood to be recruited.”

Rey visibly deflated as her heart sank. For a moment, she’d thought she was getting somewhere, but now it was clear that she’d never left square one.

“However, I will release you on two conditions,” she said, in a tone honed by years of commanding. “Firstly, you will deliver this to General Organa.”

She handed Rey a small holographic container. “It’s private. Hand it directly to her.”

“Okay.” Rey turned it over in her palm. It seemed so small, so innocuous but she had no doubt that it’s contents were precisely the opposite.

“Secondly, you will return to me with her reply.”

Rey’s mind clicked and whirred, but she felt like she was missing something. She got the feeling that this woman was playing a longer, more complicated game that she could comprehend. “Why would I come back?”

“I assume you have a sense of self-preservation?” Qi’ra laughed. “Besides, I believe that Crimson Dawn and the Resistance can come to some mutually beneficial arrangement. So it’s strongly within your interests to do what I suggest.”

“Yes,” she said plainly. “But why would you trust me?”

“Because you know that I could find you and kill you if you try to trick me,” Qi’ra said. Her tone was calm, matter-of-fact. It wasn’t a threat — it was a fact. That didn’t stop Rey’s heart from sliding all the way down into her boots. “And, also,” she continued, looking into Rey’s eyes. “I believe you’re not so different from the girl I used to be.”

“Fine.” Rey exhaled. “What about my co-pilot and my droid?”

“I’ll have someone escort them to your ship.”

“Alright.”

Qi’ra studied her for a minute. “It would be a shame if you let me down. My usual approach is much less co-operative than this and it would be disappointing to have to turn to those measures.”

Unconsciously, Rey swallowed. “Of course.”

Shakily, she stood. The droid reappeared and she followed it dutifully.

Qi’ra watched her leave; Rey could feel her eyes burning into her back. 

Some part of her screamed not to trust her, to run and not look back. Another part was deeply curious, attracted and yearning to know more.  _ Who are you? _ Rey mentally demanded.  _ What do you really want? _


End file.
